Terms of Use

1. Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18, able to agree to these terms, and authorized to participate in the closed beta. Provide accurate account information, use an email account you control, and protect your sign-in codes and device. Do not share sign-in codes or use someone else’s account. Notify us if you suspect unauthorized access.

Only enter a phone number you are entitled to use. A phone number must be verified by text message before contacts can find you by it, and a contact match does not prove identity. You are responsible for confirming whom you add as a friend before sharing information.

2. Beta availability

Whereabout is experimental software distributed for testing, including through TestFlight. Features may be incomplete, change, stop working, or be withdrawn. Updates, device settings, network access, operating-system restrictions, and provider outages can affect the service. We do not promise uninterrupted access, a particular update schedule, or retention of beta features or data indefinitely.

Use the app safely and follow platform rules. Do not interact with it while driving or when doing so would distract from an activity requiring attention. You are responsible for any device, connectivity, or carrier costs associated with using the beta.

3. Location and friendships

Whereabout uses precise device locations internally for distance calculations and nearby alerts. The current map uses public city-level pins. By default, accepted friends also receive a neighborhood name and its public anchor coordinates when location sharing and visibility permit and the neighborhood resolves. City-only sharing omits those neighborhood details. These public place positions do not identify the exact place a person is standing; sharing and visibility controls still apply.

Location information and notifications may be delayed, stale, inaccurate, missing, or unavailable. Background capture currently depends on supported iOS permissions and behavior; the Android app does not provide background capture. A missing alert does not mean a person is absent, and an alert does not confirm their exact position or intention to meet.

Use the sharing and per-friend controls to manage visibility, and review device permissions. Sharing a location or accepting a friendship does not authorize another person to follow, approach, monitor, or contact you against your wishes. Other people may copy information they have already received; changing a setting cannot take back their screenshots or memories.

Do not rely on Whereabout for emergency response, medical decisions, child supervision, employee monitoring, or any safety-critical purpose. Contact emergency services directly when appropriate.

4. Acceptable use

You must use Whereabout lawfully and respect other people’s privacy and consent. You must not:

• Stalk, harass, threaten, abuse, impersonate, or surveil anyone, or pressure someone into sharing location.
• Use another person’s phone number or account without permission, or create deceptive identities or unwanted friend requests.
• Submit contacts you are not authorized to use, harvest account or location information, or automate discovery to enumerate users.
• Bypass visibility controls, authentication, rate limits, or other safeguards; interfere with the service; or access information you are not authorized to receive.
• Upload malicious code, exploit vulnerabilities, or infringe another person’s rights.

Report misuse or a suspected vulnerability to hello@whereaboutapp.com. Avoid including another person’s precise location or unnecessary personal information in a report.

5. Your information and our software

You retain any rights you have in information and feedback you submit. You give us permission to process your submitted information as needed to provide, secure, and troubleshoot the service, consistent with the Privacy Policy and your settings. If you send suggestions, you permit us to use them to improve Whereabout without an obligation to pay you or adopt the suggestion.

Whereabout and its licensors retain rights in the app, website, software, and branding. We permit you to use the beta for your personal testing and social use under these terms and the applicable distribution-platform rules. This permission does not transfer ownership. Respect third-party licenses and notices included with the software and its map or place data.

6. Third-party services

The beta depends on services for hosting, email, text-message verification, maps, location capture, and notifications, including AWS, Resend, Twilio, Apple, Expo, Cloudflare, and the native background location SDK from Transistor Software. Your use of their services may be subject to their terms. We do not control their availability or independent data practices. See the Privacy Policy for the roles of these services.

TestFlight and App Store distribution also remain subject to Apple’s applicable terms. References to a provider do not imply that the provider endorses Whereabout.

7. Ending participation

You may stop using the beta at any time. Review your location-sharing setting and device permissions if you want to stop collection and friend visibility. Uninstalling alone does not delete a server account. To delete your account, choose Delete account in the app’s Settings, or email hello@whereaboutapp.com. Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

We may restrict or suspend access when reasonably necessary to address misuse, security issues, violations of these terms, legal obligations, or the end of the beta. Where feasible and appropriate, we will provide notice. Information handling following closure remains subject to the Privacy Policy and applicable law.

8. Disclaimers and liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the beta is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of accuracy, reliability, availability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not guarantee that locations or alerts will be correct, current, complete, or delivered.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Whereabout and its operator are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from use of or inability to use the beta, including loss of data, missed notifications, or reliance on location information. This paragraph does not exclude or limit liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including rights and remedies you may have under consumer-protection law.

Nothing in these terms makes you waive a right that applicable law does not allow you to waive.

9. Changes and general terms

We may revise these terms as the beta changes. Revised terms will be posted here with an updated date. We will give additional notice and obtain agreement when required by applicable law. If you do not agree to revised terms, stop using Whereabout.

These terms are governed by California law, subject to any mandatory protections and rights that apply where you live. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent permitted by law. A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive the ability to enforce it later.

Questions, support, or disputes: hello@whereaboutapp.com
Operator location: California, United States.